UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Sciences Second International Forum at ADSW 2018 opens new horizons for innovation

The UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science held three days of insightful and productive discussions as part of its Second International Forum at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) 2018. Taking place from January 16 to18, the event, which identified a range of promising new research areas, rounded off what has been an outstandingly successful week for the Program that is now established as an international leader in its field.

The three-day international forum, attended by leading scientists from prominent global and local institutions, featured a range of sessions that included an overview of the status of rain enhancement research globally, details on the newly awarded research projects from the Third Cycle of the Program, on innovations in water management and on new ways to optimize cloud seeding, among others. The event also allowed awardees from the First and Second Cycles to discuss the latest advances in their research projects and the potential of the new technologies under development to tackle global water security challenges.

The Forum opened with welcoming remarks from Dr Abdulla Al Mandous, Director of the National Center for Meteorology (NCM), which manages the Program, who said: “Since its inception under the auspices of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs, the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science has established itself as a leading international focal point for cutting-edge scientific advances based on the creation and application of new technologies to weather and clouds. As a regular annual event, this forum is structured to aid productive discussion between our awardees and the many leading scientists in attendance on the broadest possible range of rain enhancement science topics.”

Commenting on the forum, Alya Al Mazroui, Director of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science, said: “Our annual international forum is designed to enable productive discussions between all our Program awardees and the many other leading scientists in attendance. Our awardees are already carrying out ground-breaking work covering nanotechnology, advanced algorithms, land cover modification, ice production processes in clouds, atmospheric aerosols, and cloud electrical properties. Through such innovation, we are making real progress in enhancing and further developing capacity in the field both locally and globally while spurring global research collaborations on new advances in this important field.”

Open to policy makers, scientists and stakeholders attending ADSW, the forum offered a unique and exciting opportunity for participants to learn about the exciting and innovative work currently being carried out in the fast-growing field of rain enhancement science.

Since the Program was launched in January 2015, an ambitious international outreach campaign has engaged with 1,220 researchers and 520 institutions. Key global institutions engaged through the Program’s international roadshows include the United Nations, the European Commission and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). In addition, strong links have been built with numerous governmental and private research institutions in countries ranging from the United States to the UK and Germany in Europe, to Thailand, China and Japan in Asia.

The Forum included the exclusive UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science Third Cycle Awards Ceremony that honored internationally recognized and experienced researchers. The three scientists leading the research teams that shared the Program’s Third Cycle grant of $US 5 million are Professor Ali Abshaev, of the Hail Suppression Research Center in Russia, Professor Eric Frew, of the University of Colorado in U.S, and Dr Lulin Xue, of Hua Xin Chuang Zhi Science and Technology LLC in China.

In just a few years, the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science has established itself as a leading international cluster of cutting-edge scientific research based on the investigation and application of new technologies to weather and clouds. The Program’s outstanding success to date is evident from the overwhelming response to its Third Cycle call for research proposals last year: more than 201 submissions were received, representing 710 scientists and researchers affiliated to 316 institutions spread across 68 countries on five continents.

The Program’s globally acclaimed success has confirmed the status of Abu Dhabi and the UAE as a pioneer in this scientific field and as a hub for an internationally recognized research network facilitating the innovation and active knowledge transfers needed to ensure sustainable development and economic growth in those regions of the world vulnerable to water stress.